by KB Winters
I pushed the thought aside. The people who really mattered, my family, friends, and now, Derrick, would all be in my corner and support me through the PR nightmare that likely awaited me back in New York. I winced, imagining the swarms of paparazzi and gossip columnists that would stalk me all over the city to try and get my comment on the matter.
It was enough to make me want to look into rerouting my return flight to go to my second home in the Virgin Islands.
Derrick would look sexy-hot in a pair of Bermuda’s and shades by the pool…
****
I spent the afternoon curled up in the same alcove I’d found the day before, huddled on the oversize chair with the paperback book I’d carried onto the plane. The fast moving thriller kept my mind occupied and the steady stream of background noise kept me from drifting back to long-lost memories. Since receiving the bombshell news from Alissa, I’d decided one thing—it was time to move on with my life.
In hindsight, hours removed from the initial shock, I felt a little ridiculous for getting so upset about the proposal in the first place. Why should I care where or how Roberto’d proposed? That was my old life. I shouldn’t care anymore. He’d made his choices and it was time for me to make mine.
Starting with cementing my New Year’s Eve plans with Derrick. If he was willing to trade some of his family time with me, then I was willing to travel to his hometown and split the time so we could still see each other without him disappointing his family.
When I went on stage that night, I poured all the overflowing emotions into my performance, and by the time the final curtain call was over, Roberto was the farthest thing from my mind. As I took my last bow, I scanned the room as best as I could, looking for any sign of Derrick, but with the lights and the sheer volume of people in the room, it was impossible to tell for sure.
I rushed off the stage, eager to get changed and done with the meet and greet portion of the evening so I could get back to my room in time for his promised call. All the while, secretly hoping he would surprise me and show up in my line.
A soft knock on my dressing room door brought a smile to my face. I set down the tube of lip gloss I’d applied and hurried to the door, careful not to trip over the train on my dress. I tugged it open, smiling wide, only to feel it slide right off my face when I found Blake, not Derrick, standing on the other side with a bouquet of roses. Where the hell he’d found them in the middle of the desert was a mystery, but I wasn’t all that interested. I folded my arms. “What are you doing here?” I asked with a scowl.
Blake extended the bouquet and dropped an obvious glance to my overflowing cleavage. I snarled and dropped my arms to not amplify the effect of the low neckline. Blake didn’t stop staring, he lingered another moment before dragging his eyes back to mine. “Sexy as always, Sophia.”
“What do you want?” I repeated, my voice tight as I struggled to maintain control.
Blake set the bouquet on a narrow table by the door. “Jenna told me you were looking for me,” Blake drawled, coming into the room one slow step at a time as I backed up to avoid his grasp.
“She did?”
He pocketed his hands and flashed his signature crooked smile. “She said you had a rough rehearsal and thought you might need a little company tonight.”
I scoffed, mentally reminding myself to have a little chat with Jenna. If she didn’t get it together, I was going to go over her head and take my complaints to Dale, which, as she’d already revealed, would probably land her without a job. I didn’t care. I’d made my feelings about Blake well know, so siccing the fleabag rockstar on me was unacceptable and certainly not how you treat a superstar—especially if she was so worried about her job. “Trust me, I’ll have some company, but it’s not you.”
Blake’s smile faltered. “Why do you despise me so much, Sophia? I bring you gifts—shower you with compliments. What else could you want?”
I narrowed my eyes as they fixed on him like he was in the middle of my crosshairs. “Seriously? You really have to ask that?”
Blake didn’t flinch away. Instead, he offered another infuriating grin. “Is this because you’re still hung up on your ex? You should really forget about him. You know he’s engaged now, don’t you?”
I wasn’t a violent sort of person—at least not usually—but couldn’t stop myself when my hands curled into tight balls. Searing rage flooded my veins and launched me from my seat. “You don’t know the first thing about me, Blake. And that’s the problem. You don’t really even care. I’m just another name on your list of conquests and that was so obviously your intent from day one that you never even had a chance! I know exactly what your game is, Bucko, and I’m not playing. Do you really think a few bouquets of flowers and a few compliments are all it takes to get a woman into your bed? Well, that might work on your little groupies, but I’m not that kind of girl. I’m only interested in real men who realize I have more to offer than a good time.”
Blake arched an eyebrow. “Is that what you told your soldier friend?”
My nostrils flared. How dare he bring up Derrick.
“Word is you gave him quite the night and now he’s already moved on…” Blake’s sickening smile deepened as the horror seeped over my face. “Oh, you didn’t know?” he asked, mocking innocence in his tone. “Yeah, seems he took a shining to our friend Jenna.”
I shook my head. “You’re lying.”
Blake shrugged. “If that’s what you have to tell yourself…”
I crossed my arms again. “Get the hell out of my room!”
Blake waited another minute, smiling at me, before making his way back to the door. “I’ll go, but I can damn well guarantee, if I got a chance with you, I’d make it last a hell of a lot longer than a single night.”
He winked and ducked out into the hall before I could chuck the bouquet of flowers at his head.
Chapter Nine - Derrick
“Lawley, why don’t you get your sorry ass outta here,” Marcus called from his desk opposite mine.
I blinked back into reality, trying to stow away the thoughts of Sophia’s naked body as she straddled me the night before. It was impossible to keep my mind on work when she kept going through my head every few minutes. Apparently, Marcus had noticed…
He flashed me a goofy grin when I turned to face him. “You’re clearly not here. So why don’t you get outta here. I’ll cover your ass if Masters comes through.”
I glanced back at my computer screen. I was in the middle of reading a long document, but it was all turning into a blurry chunk of text, indiscernible as my mind drifted here and there. Before I could force myself to plow ahead, I took Marcus up on his offer. If I hurried I could get to Sophia’s show before the final number. I flicked the button to power down the monitor and hopped up from my seat. “All right. Thanks, man,” I said, shrugging back into my jacket.
Marcus and company waved me off as I bolted from the room.
I raced down to the auditorium and found the doors shut. Music spilled out into the hallway and I recognized Sophia’s crystal clear voice singing the final number. I opened the door and slipped into the back of the room. It was another packed house, not an empty seat in sight. I leaned against the back wall, knowing I was way too far away from the stage to catch Sophia’s attention so I closed my eyes and let her voice roll over me.
As the song reached the climax, someone tapped me on the shoulder, jolting me from the song. My eyes snapped open and beside me I found the woman from the first night Sophia and I had met. Her producer. Who was now wearing a charming smile. She crooked her finger at me, indicating she wanted me to follow her. I shot a look at Sophia on stage and then offered the producer a tight-lipped smile and followed her out into the hall.
“Sergeant Lawley,” she started, once we were out in the hallway, the sound of Sophia singing still soft in the background. “I was looking for you.”
“You were?”
“Yes.” She nodded. “I’m Jenna, a producer on
the TV special we’re shooting. Sophia thought you would be a good interview. I’m sure she told you about it?”
I glanced over at the closed door. “She didn’t, actually.”
“Oh,” Jenna replied, flapping a hand. “Must have slipped her mind. As you know, we are doing a TV special that will run for three nights. Nationwide. Prime time. It’s a pretty big deal. As part of that, my team and I are hand-selecting soldiers to interview about their time away and give them a chance to give a shout out to their family and friends back home. Sophia thought you would be willing to give us a few minutes.”
“Right…um, right now?”
“Sure! We could head to a private room and have you in and out.”
I weighed it for a moment. I really wanted to go back inside and see Sophia, maybe find a way backstage to see her as she stepped off the stage. But if she went out of her way to get me a spot on the show, I should probably take the opportunity. “All right, sounds fun.”
Jenna beamed and turned to lead me away. She wrapped her arm through mine. I bristled at her touch but let her continue to hang on my arm as we started back to a series of rooms that had been used mainly for storage as long as I’d been at the base. They’d been transformed into a miniature studio with a camera, special lighting fixtures, and an overstuffed chair and a low profile couch, all set up against a green screen background.
“We’re digitally piping in a background for the show,” Jenna explained as she followed my eyes to the green screen that covered most of the far wall. “It will make it look like the interviewees are in the middle of a Christmas tree farm with snow falling down and lights around the trees.”
I pocketed my hands. “Hmm. What a world, huh?”
Jenna laughed at my comment and busied herself with tapping buttons on a tablet. “Thanks for agreeing to do this interview, Sergeant Lawley,” Jenna purred, looking up long enough to point at the couch, indicating for me to take a seat. I glanced around before taking the seat, realizing we were alone in the room. There was no sign of the crew that usually followed closely on the woman’s heels.
Jenna set the tablet aside and doubled back to shut the heavy door.
I dragged my eyes back to Jenna, my mouth opening to ask where the rest of the crew was, but the words died in my throat as she stopped before me and leaned forward to brush something over my cheeks with a makeup brush. As she pressed her breasts in my face, I realized that the top three buttons on her blouse were undone and the cups of her bra were exposed. I darted my eyes away, wondering if she realized her error. Jenna smiled down at me as she finished brushing over my face. “Just a little powder to combat the shine.”
“Right,” I said, offering a hollow laugh. I’d seriously never worn any kind of makeup before and this was getting weird.
Jenna took her seat in the chair and crossed her legs. “Who would you like to address in your shout out section? Are you married?” she asked, dropping her eye to my left hand.
“No.”
A catlike expression crossed her face. “Dating anyone?”
I furrowed my brow. “No. Not at the moment…” Did she know about Sophia and me? Was that not allowed? Sophia hadn’t mentioned anything about it being a secret, but at the same time—I wasn’t even sure exactly what we were doing, so there wasn’t much point in telling anyone about it.
Even if I wanted to shout it from the rooftops that the brunette beauty on stage tonight was all mine.
At least for the next week.
After that…I wasn’t sure what would happen with us, and didn’t want to spend too much time thinking about.
Jenna leaned forward in her seat, adjusting her skirt and her shirt opened wider, revealing even more skin. I cleared my throat, trying to get her to notice. She dropped her eyes to her own cleavage. “See something you like?”
My eyes flashed back to hers. “What? No…I just thought you might want to fix—”
“It’s okay. I don’t mind.” Jenna got up and crossed the room to sit beside me on the couch. She ran her hand up my arm. “I thought you might like the chance to get alone with me…”
I tugged my arm out of her reach and angled my body to use my long legs to keep some distance between us. “Listen, I don’t mean to be rude, but I’m not interested. I came here to do the interview…or at least, that’s what I thought I was here for.”
Jenna gave a throaty laugh. “We can still do the interview. But we could have a little fun first. You must get lonely here, all pent up, with no…outlet.” Her fingers went to the loose buttons on her shirt and started to tug at the next one in the line.
I pushed up to my feet. “I’m going to go. Can you tell me where I might find Sophia?”
Hint, hint.
Jenna shrugged, nonplussed by my quick exit. She lounged back on the couch and raked her hair back, letting it fall around her shoulders. “Sophia’s with Blake tonight. You know Blake Powell, the lead singer of Spiral? The two of them have a thing going on.”
I shook my head. “You’re lying. Sophia told me that Blake’s a womanizing snake. She wouldn’t be with a guy like that.”
Jenna smiled. “Listen, I haven’t known Sophia for all that long, but she’s coming off a nasty divorce and kind of…finding herself. It wouldn’t surprise me if she has a few guys on speed dial for when she gets lonely. A girl like that is never without a crowd of admirers.”
“I don’t think so,” I said, my jaw tensed. Sure, I hadn’t known Sophia that long. Hell, it hadn’t even been a full week, but the picture Jenna was painting of the woman I’d spent the night with was skewed.
Behind me, the door flew open and Sophia bull-rushed inside, fire blazing in her dark eyes. She flicked from Jenna, to Jenna’s bra, and then finally to me.
Jenna popped up from the couch, doing a stunning acting job as she feigned embarrassment. “Oh! Sophia! I didn’t know you were done with your meet and greet.” She made a show of buttoning her top. “You’ll have to excuse us, we got a little…carried away.” She winked at me.
“Sophia, this isn’t what it looks like,” I protested, side stepping away from Jenna another wide pace.
Sophia glared at me. “Really? I expected to find you with Jenna, but not like this,” she said, gesturing at Jenna who was still fidgeting with her buttons.
“Why would you expect me here, with her?” I spat.
“Because she was trying to tangle me up with Blake Powell who not-so-subtly dropped hints that the two of you were together. I just didn’t imagine that it was by your choice.”
“It wasn’t! She told me we were doing an interview.” I raked my hands over my short cropped hair. God, I sounded like some woman who tangled with a director or producer to get a part in a movie. This wasn’t the casting couch!
I stepped forward, reaching for Sophia, but she flinched away. “Sophia, please, I didn’t want anything to do with this. Jenna—” I snapped my attention back to the woman-slash-snake on the couch. “Tell her the truth.”
Jenna rolled her eyes.
“I’ll call Dale right this minute if you don’t tell me what the hell is going on! I have no qualms about reporting you directly to him and explaining what the hell I just walked into,” Sophia said, her tone matching the fire in her eyes.
Jenna narrowed her eyes at Sophia but after a moment she crumbled. “Your little boy toy here wasn’t taking the bait, all right? Happy now?”
“I will be as soon as I get word that your sorry ass has been fired,” Sophia retorted, not backing down.
Jenna’s eyes went wide. Sophia had clearly struck home.
“Get out!” Sophia demanded, waving a hand at the door.
Jenna shoved off the couch, straightened her skirt, and marched for the doors. When the door shut closed behind her, Sophia turned to me, the fire in her eyes had dimmed, but wasn’t fully extinguished.
“I’m sorry, Sophia. Trust me, this was not the way I planned on seeing you again.”
She shook her head. “I know. Th
at bitch was jealous of your attention from the moment she saw us together. I just had no idea she’d play such an underhanded game.” She sighed deeply and squeezed her eyes closed. When they opened again, they were misted over.
“You okay?” I asked, stepping closer.
Sophia let me wrap my arms around her. “Yeah. It’s been a really long day,” she said, her voice barely above a whisper as she turned her face to bury it against my chest.
“I’m sorry.” I squeezed her tightly and we stayed that way for a few minutes as the tension melted away. I tipped her chin up and kissed her soft and slow, doing my best to reassure her that my lips were only interested in hers.
“I should go do the meet and greet,” she said once we parted.
With the tip of my thumb I stroked at her cheek, sweeping away a single tear that had slipped free. “How can I help?”
“Come with me?”
“Of course.”
Sophia’s hand found mine and our fingers locked together before I lead her back through the doors.
Chapter Ten - Sophia
Neither Blake nor Jenna was anywhere to be found during the meet and greet. I hoped they were off commiserating their losses. They deserved each other. Derrick stayed by my side during the event as I signed countless autographs and snapped pictures with anyone that asked. He kept one arm around my chair and the warmth of his presence helped me stay locked into the task at hand and not drift back over the events of the terrible day.
When the last soldier had gone on their way, I thanked the crew that came in to break everything down, and then took Derrick’s hand and let him lead the way back to my room. We didn’t speak on the way, and even when we were alone in my room, Derrick waited for me to start speaking.
I sank down on the couch and leaned forward to brace my elbows on my knees. “My ex-husband is engaged,” I blurted.